Hi, alright i'll give ya the details...Camaligan is a great place, filled with wonderful people. I ride around from house to house in a Padjak, which has a seat connected to a bicycle. I've pretty much met all the Padjak drivers, and now teaching a lot of their families. The bike ride is slow enough to get to know them, and ask them if they want my secret to happiness. okay okay I don't always use that line, but I like thinking of catchy phases to get their gospel interest.

Thanks mother for the questions, I'll try to answer all of them. The apartment is, is, is, uhmm... well I caught a rat the other day. He was just about as scared as I was. When I wasn't squealing he was. I first attempted smashing him with a broom, yet my heart broke when I saw the fear in his eyes. So I resorted just throwing a bucket over him. My companion just laughed and documented the entire chase of my furry friend and I. I kept him under the bucket for the night, wondering what to do, although we just ended up setting him free. Poor guy, he probably has a wife and kids. I just couldn't sentence him to death.

Soooo..I still sleep on a mattress, and a fan at my feet. I don't like the fan, although I have to use it so I'm not dinner for a million mosquitoes.

and I bathe... oh yes mom I bathe. I bathe like a philipino, using a bucket and splashing water of my body. The water is weak here, have to fill up my bucket the night before.

Each transfer differs in food, due to different companions. This transfer, sister and I consist of 2 meals. yep, 2. One American dish and One Samoan dish. PB&J and the other cabbage and corn beef. We both seem satisfied with our 2 meals. I cook PB&J for breakfast and dinner, then we pop open a can of corn beef for lunch. All quick and delicious. I consume about 30 PB&J a week, which makes me at 150 sandwiches this transfer. I think I might be a peanut addict. We found a cheap peanut butter here, The taste is a bit off, but it does the job.

Hmmm, I do have to admit, we do occasionally go buy our ulam outside...whenever we run out of canned corn beef. They say we should probably stay away from buying our ulam on the street, because we don't know how it was prepared, and it probably isn't sanitary. Although, don't worry mom, we always bless the food before we eat it. :) The other day I asked the lady what kind of fish she used in one of her ulams. I got a good laugh out of her response, for she was quite shy to tell me. She laughed and apologized, saying that Philipinos don't really follow the rules, and its an endangered fish. I hesitated for a moment, then justified it by thinking 'oh well, its already dead,' so I ate it. Well, later that afternoon, I pulled out the dictionary to find the English word for the 'Pagi' fish I ate. Welp, turns out I ate a sting ray.

(I'm sorry, The word ulam is just the term used for a dish or meal, but when we speak English I don't think I’ve ever used the word 'dish' to describe something I commonly eat, I just feel awkward saying dish to you all)

Oh yea, along with the food topic, we do have a dinner appointment each week with a member family. This is the main culprit for a slight weight gain. It is absolutely bawal or not allowed to leave their house, unless your have eaten so much food that it starts leaking out your nose. Good thing the Padjaks are always close by, because I feel like a penguin waddling out of their house due to an enlarged stomach.

Well, that's about all folks. lovin' life, day by day.

oh yea, and about the tsunami's, Philippines is on Alert, and one of our zones was evacuated. Although i'm safe, and not worried. Just stayin close enough to hear that still small voice, so Gods got my back wherever or whenever

Sister Rachie ola

I just got done with sending my president an email, and I decided to send it to you guys as well, so you could get a little feel for the work. .

Well, This was a great week. Sister Saua and I were teaching more powerfully, as well as combined with diligent work. We finally got into a groove where we've got things working together for us.

One of the weaknesses in our area, is we find a lot of new investigators, although not many as willing to continue listening. Then the ones continuing to listen, aren't willing to commit. I know what this means though. I need to keep praying to find the ones whose hearts are softened enough to make the proper life changes. Then I need to stay worthy enough to receive the spirit to tell me what to do with the current investigators.

Missionaries like to claim problems with the area, although in my opinion, the field is white already to harvest...which means there are people ready in any area. So the success in an area doesn't depend on the Area, is depends on the missionary.

I just have a lot of thoughts on what to do with Areas. For example, Its hard wanting to drop an investigator, when your companion is close to them, then you start questioning yourself for perhaps your being impatient with the non-progress. So patience? or Trust in God, he will lead missionaries back to them when their ready? Many thoughts.

We're going to start a workshop for Ward Missionaries this week. We have got them excited about the new member packets, and we plan on giving them assignments to go out and teach less actives as well.

Thank you very much for your replies, and time. I appreciate it.

-Sister Hancock